Blog Schedule?

by melissay1, posted in Uncategorised

I spent an entire evening this week writing up my dream holiday for a competition and I really enjoyed writing about what I liked about going to a certain place. This made me realise that sometimes I might actually want to write about places I’ve holidayed or my recommendations for things to do in certain places on my blog. Or even if I just want a post to let out my love for something, especially as I know people in real life will only listen to you enthusiastically talk about things you love so much before you start getting an eye roll in response.

Currently I aim to post every weekend but at the moment I’m reading enough books to warrant that being my weekly post. I love reading books and writing my review up afterwards especially as I read reviews before buying a book, so I don’t want to stop writing those but it’s also stopping me from blogging about anything but books. I love reading and books so I know this isn’t a bad thing, I just want the option to post about other things I love too.

So…thoughts please! How would people feel about if I increased my blog posting? If I want to post about my favourite musicals, a concert I’ve been to or just general travel posts…would anyone be interested in reading more of that kind of thing? I’m thinking book reviews on a Sunday as normal then more of a ‘Whatever Wednesday’? If you want book reviews you know to check back on a Sunday but if you’re interested in reading other things check in on a Wednesday?

If I post about must see things to do in x city, I worry that I may come across abit annoying in a ‘oh look at her showing off about these amazing things that she’s done’ kind of way but anything I have done I’ve paid for myself and although I appreciate I’m in a fortunate position as I have little outgoings, I do work a lot more hours than the average working week to be able to afford to do things. I honestly would not mean to come across as showing off or anything like that, I just want to post about things I’ve enjoyed doing and maybe someone would get inspiration of things they might want to do one day. I know I read so many reviews / watch YouTube videos when I go on holiday to decide what to do. My last holiday I literally watched a YouTube video and jotted down the things I liked the look of from that and made my travel itinerary from it.

At the moment I’m feeling in a relatively creative place so I’m itching to write more than once a week whilst I feel in the mood to. However, I’m not committing to weekly Wednesday points, just more of a see how it goes type of thing! Weekends however, will still be weekly!

If you’re interested in reading a Whatever Wednesday post or not please let me know your thoughts?

Mr Spencer – T.L. Swan

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

I wanted to love this book, I really did. It could’ve been a good book but for me I just sadly didn’t enjoy it. Now, where do I start…

Mr Spencer is a book telling the story of Charlotte and Spencer. Charlotte is basically English royalty with her family being extremely rich and thanks to that and that her mother was killed in a tragic accident, her brothers and father are extremely protective of her. The family keep themselves out of the public eye and press as much as they can. Spencer on the other hand (although very rich himself!) is in the papers every day complete with a new love interest on his arm. He is a player and basically the exact type of guy Charlotte’s family do not want her associating with. Charlotte on the other hand is very interested in associating with him despite his playboy ways.

For me, my biggest issue was the characters. I just didn’t like them. Charlotte was relatively ok but I didn’t like her ‘I’m a sweet, innocent virgin’ act and I also didn’t like how much she was a pushover. Her family rules her life and I hate that. As for Spencer…you read this book and are supposed to be routing for him to end up with Charlotte but I’m just not. Yes, he has some cute moments but at the same time he’s just as ruling and controlling of Charlottes life as her family are. It infuriates me how infatuated she is with him. However I do feel like he does mean well and I do think he loves Charlotte and always has her best interests at heart especially when he fights for her independence with her family when no one else has bothered before, but he just goes around things in a very annoying way. As for Charlotte’s family, they are the most irritating characters I’ve ever read about. They are unbelievably controlling and as far as they’re concerned Charlotte will live her life how they want her too and you can completely see (even if it does annoy me) why Spencer goes off the rails repeatedly when meeting them. I get that Charlotte’s family just want to protect her as much as possible but it wasn’t normal behaviour in how they treated her. Rather than coming across as a protective family, i found that it was overbearing and just a little uncomfortable to read about.

I had such high hopes for the story too as I loved the blurb. However, I’m so sad that it just didn’t meet my expectations. I feel like my inability to gel with any of the characters meant that I truly didn’t care about what happened to them. Plus when the curveball plot twist happened towards the end of the book I literally just sat eye rolling. It just seemed like the author wanted to throw in more drama when the book was full of unnecessary drama already and by that point I’d just had enough. Overall the story was ok, but I did find myself skipping ahead at various points.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend this book. I really felt the story had potential and the first couple of chapters I truly thought I was going to love it. However, for me it was the overbearing characters that spoilt the story for me. I just didn’t enjoy reading about them. I think it you can tolerate the characters behaviour you will love this story but for me I sadly won’t be rereading any time soon.

Synopsis –

He was gorgeous, older, and had the worst reputation in all of England.

The way he looked at me sent shivers down my spine.

Our first meeting was at a wedding, where he followed me outside and kissed me.

Our second meeting ended in a huge fight with me kicking him out.

Our third meeting, I went on a double, blind date.
You can imagine my surprise when I saw familiar blue eyes across the table opposite my friend.
Oh….no….

He was sarcastic and witty and damn,
If he wasn’t the sexiest bastard I ever laid eyes on.

Then he sent me an email listing thirty reasons
why I should go on a date with him.

I was expecting a suave and intelligent list.
Curious, I read on.

Reason 1 – I have white teeth
Reason 2 – I love my grandma
Reason 3 – I have a size 13 shoe – you do the math.

The man’s a fool, his list was some of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever read.
And the funniest.

We laughed hard…and loved harder.

You can outrun everything……except your past.
And his has caught up.

Wild handsome players don’t fall for innocent girls like me,
Or do they?

Challenge Accepted – Amanda Abram

by melissay1, posted in Uncategorised

First of all apologies for missing my weekly blog post last week! I’d just come back off holiday and then the Sunday I went out the entire day so between jetlag and just being busy, truthfully I just didn’t have time to write anything. Plus the genuine jetlag tiredness meant that I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t even awake enough last week to even type in sentences that made sense! I’m not feeling 100% this week so not entirely sure how this weeks post is going to turn out but here we go…

Going on holiday means that I read a lot of books. I love flights where I’m physically unable to waste time by playing a silly game on my phone or going into that never ending cycle of watching related YouTube videos and I’m able to channel into doing productive things like reading or writing plus the whole jetlagged waking up at 3 in a morning business means that you’re able to finish reading a book before its an acceptable time to get out of bed. As ever, I downloaded a lot of books onto my kindle for the holiday and my favourite from the week was a book by Amanda Abram called Challenge Accepted.

Challenge Accepted tells the story of Emma and Logan who have been neighbours since they were both born combine that with the fact their families are best friends, it was safe to say the should’ve been friends. Except they couldn’t be any further away from being friends. As Emma’s best friends spend the summer together in Florida, Emma is desperate to have an incredible summer at home with potentially a summer romance so takes part in the schools compatibility test to find her perfect match. Little does she know, thanks to Logan lying on his test so that he wouldn’t match with his on-off girlfriend, that she’d be paired with the person she hated the most. Thanks to this, Logan is guilt tripped by his family into helping Emma have the perfect summer and sets about trying to make her a potential love interest for his friend Matt who she’s had a crush on for years. However, somehow in the process Emma and Logan find out that spending time together isn’t as bad as they both imagined.

I loved this book and it really is everything that you want from a young adult novel. Yes, its super predictable but to be honest I didn’t care. The romantic build up is quite a slow burner but I loved that about it. The storyline does a great job of really showing Emma’s transformation into someone Matt would romantically like, even if in reality she doesn’t change from who she is much at all. I’m not usually a fan of books that are told from dual perspectives but I felt that it really worked well in this book as it was interesting to read both the main characters thoughts of what was happening.

Logan and Emma are both such good characters to read about, I liked them both which added to my enjoyment of the book. Although at the beginning Logan is presented as being a bit of a jerk he isn’t like that at all really and you soon find yourself on his side. I think a lot of the readers will probably identify with Emma too…I know I for one would much rather stay in organising my books than go to a party so I know I really felt her reluctance in going when reading.

I’m definitely out of the young adult target reading group nowadays but I still love reading a romantic young adult novel – it’s so good to go back to a familiar genre that I love and it’s refreshing to have less adult themed content. What I dislike about many young adult novels from an older readers point of view is that I find the characters very immature and react in such a childish way. However, I didn’t really find this as such with this book which for me added to my enjoyment of reading this book. Present me loved reading this book and I know younger me would’ve loved it even more and that is exactly how you know this book is fantastic.

If you’re looking for a super cute, quick young adult book make sure this is the one you pick up to read next!

Synopsis –

Emma Dawson and Logan Reynolds have been neighbours and enemies for as long as either one can remember. Despite the fact their BFF fathers have been encouraging them their whole lives to be friends, they’ve managed to avoid each other at all costs. Emma thinks Logan is a callous jerk who cares about nobody but himself. Logan thinks Emma is a stuck-up goody-two shoes with no life. The two couldn’t be any more different…which is why Emma is so confused when the Emerson High Computer Club’s “Summer Fling Compatibility Test” concludes they’re a perfect match.

But Logan’s not confused. He lies on the test to make his “sometimes girlfriend” think they’re not meant to be and now Emma is furious that he made her lose out on the chance of having a swoony summer romance with the perfect guy. Forced by his stepmother to make it up to her, Logan decides to help her win the heart of her lifelong crush: his best friend, Matt.

He knows how much of a challenge this will be. Matt is good-looking, popular and outgoing, Emma is quiet, bookwormish, and scared of everything. However, Logan is convinced that with some major tweaking, he can transform Emma into someone Matt could fall for. But as the summer heats up, so does their budding friendship…and soon, they may be faced wit the biggest challenge of all: falling for each other.

Srprs.me Holiday

by melissay1, posted in Uncategorised

As I am writing this post I am currently on the way to the airport to go on a week long holiday somewhere in the world and by the time I post this I should hopefully have arrived in my holiday destination. I know my travel dates, I know when I need to be at the airport, my suitcase is packed, I have a rough idea of the weather (hint – it’s freezing!) but other than that I have zero ideas of anything to do with this holiday. That’s right I literally have no idea about where I am going on holiday!

I booked this holiday with a company called srprs.me. Srprs.me are a company who do exactly what it says on the tin! Instead of spending hours obsessively planning your holiday, you simply chose whether you want a holiday in or out of Europe and the standard of accommodation then viola! Your holiday is booked and you have no idea where you’re going until you arrive at the airport excitedly ready to board the plane. They well and truly surprise you!

Around 18 months ago I booked my very first srprs.me holiday. I’d already been to New York that year so I just wanted a little European city break at the back end of the year. Europe doesn’t really hold much appeal to me, I’ve never had any must do travel places there so trying to decide where in Europe I wanted to go was a nightmare. I researched a million places but nothing really grabbed my attention, everywhere looked good but nothing really was a must book. Plus I obsessively research hotels and the locations of them and I just couldn’t find anything that was in my budget. Obviously Facebook twigged on to my holiday googling and one day srprs.me came up as an advert. I did some research and found lots of peoples positive reviews so I booked to go.

Once you book your trip you have a countdown page and when that page hits zero you find out your destination. You’re sent a scratch card in the post which once scratched reveals a 4 digit pin, then once you arrive at the airport at the time srprs.me advises (which is plenty of time to clear security, have breakfast and browse the duty free!) your countdown page hits zero and you’re able to input your pin code which then reveals your destination! You’re told your airport terminal and you get genuine excitement as you walk past the departure board wondering which of these places are your flight! Obviously if you need any printed out boarding cards etc, srprs.me send you them in a sealed do not open until you know you destination envelope – they really do think of everything that you need.

I was the queen of extensively researching hotels, writing multiple notebooks full of things you want to see and do, even ‘walking’ around in the place on Google street view but it’s so refreshing to physically not being able to do this. The hotel was a 4 star hotel, moments away from one of the main underground stations which went to nearly everywhere in the city without the need to change lines and a 5 minute walk from the main attractions. Honestly, I couldn’t have booked a better hotel if I’d tried to myself. The city itself was one that I never would’ve even thought about but I’m sure srprs.me know me better than I know myself as it was certainly the perfect trip for me and I’d never even considered going! Basically, if I can push myself out of my obsessive planning comfort zone and have the best time, anyone can!

Thanks to that successful trip, myself and my friend Lorna, have booked a srprs.me trip to anywhere in the world! We booked this trip almost a year ago and have since daydreamed about nearly every place in the world. Could we be going to Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Brazil?! The amazing fact is we actually could be going to any of these places! It’s the craziest feeling travelling to the airport and knowing you’re booked to go on a plane in just a few hours to some incredible destination yet you have no idea where. At the time of writing this we haven’t yet revealed our destination but based on my Europe trip I can vouch that the feeling on the reveal is unreal and like nothing else and the spontaneous holiday you have when you arrive is just as good (perhaps even better!) than a trip that has been extensively planned.

I’ll write a post up in the near future about my experience of doing a worldwide trip with srprs.me but based on my Europe trip experience I’m sure that I am in for a fantastic holiday!

See you next week!

 

The Consequence of Falling – Claire Contreras

by melissay1, posted in Book Review, Uncategorised

The Consequence of Falling by Claire Contreras tells the story of Presley. She is the heiress of a brewery and her entire life she’s done everything that has been expected of her. Gone to college, married a rich man…but by doing that she’s put her own life own hold. One divorce later, Presley finds herself back working for her father, but this time round her dad has a new business partner in the form of Nathaniel Bradley. Nathaniel is only a couple of years older than Presley and she has known him since high school – and has despised him since the very first meeting when he drove her home from school. Of course, now Nathaniel is basically Presley’s boss things are bound to get interesting.

This book is great and even at the moments you think it’s getting a little long winded just stick with it. The slow build up to this book, is exactly what makes it so good because when everything you’ve been waiting to happen happens it makes everything a hundred times better. A lot of books that are a slow burner are slightly disappointing when things start happening but it isn’t the case in this book. You start to feel like you know the characters inside out which only makes for an even more enjoyable read.

Yes, on the outside Presley does appear to be a spoiled brat and to be fair on a number of occasions she acts like one. However, you have to remember she is going through a high profile divorce and she is well aware of the fact that her dad isn’t in the best of health, plus toss in the fact her lifelong nemesis Nathaniel has been made a partner of the business she is going to run one day and he takes great pleasure in winding Presley up. She really does have a lot on her plate so at times during some of her diva-ish reactions you have to remember this. Nathaniel see’s Presley’s dad as more of a father figure and he has known him since he was a teenager. He works extremely hard so its no wonder that he’s frustrated by Presley’s lack of effort towards the business at times. However, despite them both having annoying tendencies at times, they are both likeable characters and I think that the fact they both have some bad qualities makes them more human and relatable.

I really enjoyed the story and the last 25% of the book is absolutely everything you want from a book story. It sent you through every type of emotion imaginable with your heart literally going out to characters are certain moments. As mentioned earlier, the slow build up makes you enjoy this even more and as you’re so attached to these characters by the end of the book you’re really routing for them and going through all the emotions with them.

I genuinely can’t believe I’ve never read any of the authors previous books before as I enjoyed reading this one so much. If you’re looking for a romance novel that has a strong emotional storyline then this book should definitely be your next book to read. I know I’m now off to see what other books that I can download onto my kindle by the author.

Synopsis –

The list of things I hate is short. Not even my soon-to-be ex-husband is on that list. Nope. I save only the worst of the worst, the crème de la crème, the absolute I cannot even for this list . . .

1. Black coffee
2. Rude people
3. Nathaniel Bradley

Which is why when my father informs me that he’s making Nathaniel Bradley his new business partner, and in turn, my boss, I flip out.

1. He’s an annoying know-it-all.
2. He calls me a spoiled princess every chance he gets.
3. He disapproves of everything I do.

I go into this knowing I’ll hate every second in his presence. Except the longer he’s around, the more I find myself staring at his lips and remembering the one time they were on mine. I randomly find myself looking at his hands and wondering how they’d feel on my skin. I try to snap out of it, but I guess I’m not as smart as I thought I was. No matter how many times I remind myself of the times I’ve practically thrown myself at him and he’s pushed me away, I keep falling little by little.

I’d always heard that it was a bad idea to mix business with pleasure and if that’s the case, this thing with Nathaniel has demise written all over it.

Be More Chill – Ned Vizzini

by melissay1, posted in Book Review, Uncategorised

I’m going to be perfectly honest, I had never heard of this book before the Broadway musical. I always keep my eye on what new shows are on Broadway to plan what I’d like to see on my next trip across the pond. Be More Chill caught my attention as many of my favourite Broadway performers have been posting about seeing this show lately and it stars Will Roland who was in Dear Evan Hansen so naturally when I discovered it was based on a book it was straight downloaded onto my Kindle.

Be More Chill tells the story of Jeremy who is the stereotypical high school dork. He is humiliated by most of the school daily, he spends his day staring at his crush Christine who doesn’t give him a second glance and only has one friend, Michael. Then one day his classmate tells him about the squip. The squip is a supercomputer that is taken as a pill and once swallowed it gives you everything that you desire in life. Now in Jeremy’s brain he has another voice telling him everything to say, do…even down to what to wear! Overnight Jeremy has turned from the schools biggest loser to someone who gets invited to the popular parties and who people actually want to be seen with!

I love the idea of Be More Chill. In my mind something like the squip could actually exist one day and this to me is what makes this book so good. Its interesting to see how the squip successfully works but at the same time how it can cause more trouble than it’s worth. I mean, on the one hand it transformed Jeremy. He’s now no longer the joke of the school but on the other hand its interesting to see that although computers might know the facts about everything, the things they suggest might not actually work in practice.

On the whole I liked the book but it was mainly due to the fact I found the concept of the squip fascinating. The characters on the other hand, I’m just not sure about. The guys are presented as sex mad (even Jeremy who spends too much of his free time watching porn on his computer) and the girls seem more than happy to satisfy this, seemingly willingly having sex with any guy who shows interest. Although this book is young adult, I really don’t think its characters are great for a teenage audience as they all seem to think by sex rather than brains, plus the whole fact that the only way Jeremy can fit in is by spending a lot of money on the squip which changes everything about him isn’t such a good message either. Plus its worth throwing in a warning that in his new popular state Jeremy also takes drugs. However, the ending of this book was fantastic and I certainly didn’t see it coming.

Truthfully? I did enjoy this book but I wouldn’t really recommend it to a younger, target audience to read due to the characters. However, the squip is quite thought provoking and I did spend a lot of time thinking about a world where such thing existed. In terms of the Broadway musical, I can completely see this story working on a stage! Plus I have had a little listen to the songs and they’re every bit as quirkily brilliant as you’d expect from this story. Given the opportunity I probably would go and see the show if I could as it is such an interesting concept that I think could be saved by the songs – and hopefully make the characters a little more interesting rather than being sex obsessed teens.

Synopsis – 

Jeremy Heere is your average high school dork. Day after day, he stares at beautiful Christine, the girl he can never have, and dryly notes the small humiliations that come his way. Until the day he learns about the “squip”. A pill-sized supercomputer that you swallow, the squip is guaranteed to bring you whatever you most desire in life. By instructing him on everything from what to wear, to how to talk and walk, the squip transforms Jeremy from Supergeek to superchic. Now an off-Broadway musical!

 

That Guy – Belle Brooks

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

That Guy tells the story of Melinda. She has the worst luck in finding love and even when she isn’t trying to find love she still manages to embarrass himself in the front of attractive men in the supermarket. Then her best friend Chris, convinces her to sign her to a new dating tv show that statistically matches potential romantic partner. Within hours of applying she gets matched and finds herself flying to a secret island to spend weeks with her match. Little does Mindy know that the guy she’s matched with her path has crossed with before.

I was so close to giving up reading this book. I started and found Mindy hilarious and then I just found that it dragged, I really just wanted to give up reading but thankfully I didn’t. Once Mindy started heading to the island it was a game changer. I couldn’t put it down! On reflection I feel like you need the beginning for good backstory on her dating history but for me its the island when things started getting good. If you start reading this book, keep plodding on, I promise that its worth it.

I loved characters Mindy and Arlie which made reading their experiences on the island even more enjoyable. It was also an interesting concept to watch two characters getting to know each other without the pressures of outside life interfering – even if it was going to be filmed for a tv show with millions of people potentially watching. I didn’t however really like Chris, Mindy’s gay best friend. To be honest, I found him a little annoying and for me the book probably would’ve been better without him.

I did enjoy the idea of the storyline too. Two characters meet on a television reality dating show and the story tells the adventures on said dating show – I think that’s a great idea! It was fun reading about the tasks they had to participate in whilst on the island too. I also really liked the twist at the end of the book too!

This book is ok. I enjoyed reading it and I did like the characters and at times it was funny, but overall I thought it was just an ok read.

Synopsis –

A modern way of finding love. One deserted island of luxury. Two people. Three out cards. And a whole lot of possibilities.

Melinda takes the advice of her best friend, Chris. She signs up to a new dating service that pairs you statistically to the one you’re supposed to love. Finding it – love that is – using the more conventional methods, has not been a successful venture for Mindy, and with her biological clock ticking, she uses a more desperate method and takes the plunge into a possible happily ever after.

The thing is, when she boards the boat to a secret location, she doesn’t realise the man waiting for her is someone she’s previously met.

Chance encounters occur more frequently than we realise. Being blind to them is part of a bustling world. But, being faced with them can lead to a hilarious three weeks between two opposites who might just attract.

CoppaFeel Trek 2019

by melissay1, posted in Other, Uncategorised

For those who don’t know, last year I participated in the biggest challenge I’ve ever undertaken – and lets be honest its probably the biggest challenge I’ll ever do in my lifetime. Last year, I was one of sixty lucky participants who was selected to take part in CoppaFeel’s annual trek and honestly it was one of the best experiences of my life. CoppaFeel (with the help of Fabulous magazine) have announced details of this years trek, they’re only going to be going to the Himalayas! Applications to go onto the trek close next week so I thought I would use this weeks post to write abit about my experience of doing the trek in case you were sitting on the fence about applying.

The trek I participated in saw me flying to Romania for a week long trek in Transylvania with sixty complete strangers. Its the strangest thing but if you’re worried about not knowing anyone don’t be! By the time we’d even landed in Romania friendships were already being made and by the flight home we all left with a bunch of new lifelong friends of who we’ll always have completing this crazy adventure in common with. You’re even paired with a complete stranger (I do believe they paired you up by age) who you spend the entirety of the week cooped up in the tiniest of tents with – I’m not even kidding, we couldn’t even stand up in our tent or put our tshirts on without almost hitting your tent mate! My tent buddy was the most lovely person in the world and I left the week feeling like I’d known her my entire life, we laughed through the week together and experienced the highs and lows of trek life.

My year was headed up by two celebrity captains, the very lovely Lisa Snowdon and Tom Fletcher. I liked being split up into two smaller teams as it meant you could speak to everyone on your team but you do see the other team plenty during the week. You knew everyone on your team and it was great to get to know every single person. Both of the team captains we had we fantastic and it was just like speaking to a friend and not a celebrity – which is exactly what you want on a trek like this! This years trek is captained by Giovanna Fletcher, Brooke Vincent and two unannounced team captains and I’m sure they’ll all be just as wonderful and supportive as our captains.

The walk itself…well where do I start! It is tiring and that is an understatement! I went into this walk having already pushed myself to try and get fitter (prior to this I did minimal exercise, the dog walk was about as far as it went…) and boy was that nowhere near enough. Day one came and I wondered what on earth I was doing and how on earth I was supposed to get through the rest of the week – especially as day one had been advertised as the ‘easy’ day. However, your team are the most supportive people and you’re not judged for being slower and struggling going uphill – yes just the uphill’s, I loved even the steepest downhills! They were quick to believe you can do it even when you’re convinced that you can’t and someone was always around to help you get up the hills, one step at a time. You’re never left to struggle on alone and I think that’s the best part of the CoppaFeel trek, everyone wants to cross that line as a team and no one see’s it as a race. Everyone just helped each other where they could. A slightly easier route was even factored into the plans on the big mountain day too which was greatly appreciated, so the week really is achievable by everyone. This years trek isn’t until November so hopefully those extra few months will be crucial to help get your fitness up ready for the trek. If I could complete the trek, anyone can!

The major downside to the CoppaFeel trek which was the main thing that put me off applying is the fundraising. You have to raise a lot of money to go as well as pay a deposit to secure your place. However, last year I managed to somehow raise over £3000 with relatively little effort! I’d planned fundraising concerts, car boots – anything really to try hit the target I needed to raise but I didn’t actually do any of it! You’ll be surprised at how generous people are when they hear you’re raising money for CoppaFeel and people will tell you so many stories about how breast cancer has affected them or a close family member, which when you’re struggling getting up mountains you find yourself thinking of these stories and it really helps you find the energy to carry on as you know what you’re doing is for such a good cause. However, I did have fantastic support, I had workmates asking departments I’d never even step foot in to sponsor me and I even had a friend do a 24 hour bikeathon with all monies going to my fundraising page. Help to fundraise comes in surprising ways and peoples generosity will never fail to astound you.

Really I can’t explain how much I would recommend doing the CoppaFeel trek. I’m not going to lie, it will be the hardest week of your life but it’s so completely worthwhile at the end. I’ve never felt such emotion as I have crossing the finish line on the final day! If you’re looking for a challenge and want to help raise money for a fantastic charity then I couldn’t recommend applying to take part in this trek enough – plus this years celebrates the 10th anniversary of CoppaFeel!

If anyone has any questions about the trek I’m more than happy to answer anything – believe me since I’ve come back I still find it hard to resist talking to people about ‘this one time in Transylvania’ or ‘that time I went on a trek’ so I really am happy to answer anything. Also, whilst your reading my blog post, remember to check your boobs! This is CoppaFeel’s main message and I know my eyes were opened on the trek how important early detection is and how breast cancer can affect any age or gender.

For more information on the trek and how to apply click hereFor more information on the trek and how to apply click here

 

 

Album Review / Half Way There – Busted

by melissay1, posted in Music

For me, Busted aren’t just that band that you get that nostalgic ‘oh I loved this band when I was younger’ kick from. They are the band that I’ve constantly loved since the early 2000s when they first appeared on the UK music scene. Basically anything they released, whether it was when they did individual projects or together, I was always guaranteed to love it because its Busted and I probably would be supporting them whatever but this album is genuinely an instant love at first listen.

Busted’s new album, Half Way There was released this week and it is basically everything you could ever have wanted from a Busted album. If you’ve ever been a fan of any of Busted’s music this album is for you, the guitars and unbelievably catchy songs are back. I absolutely loved the bands previous release Night Driver as it reminded me so much of band member James Bourne’s solo project Future Boy, but Half Way There is just a complete step up from that. I’d heard a very rough demo of Nineties, the first song released from the album back in September 2017 and when I’ve met the band since the last album they’ve excitedly said how much they love this album, so my excitement for this album has been around for a while but nothing could compete the with excitement I’ve had this week upon actually being able to listen to it.

Half Way There consists of ten songs all of which are such great songs. From the very Blink 182 sounding, Shipwrecked In Atlantis, to fan favourite (it was released on the McBusted album) What Happened To Your Band to the acoustic song, All My Friends which documents growing older and It Happens which documents the Busted journey – this album has something for everyone. What I love the most about this album is that Busted have gone back to exactly what made me love them in the first place even though this style of music isn’t something you’d really hear on radio anymore. To be honest, I think that’s the reason it charted so highly (amazingly hitting the number two spot in this weeks album charts) as people love the classic Busted sound. That being said although this album sounds similar to the first two albums, you can completely hear how the band have grown musically since the earlier releases.

I attended three of Busted’s album release week performances this week and I can honestly say this album is going to sound unreal on tour. Every song is just designed for a live performance and I can already imagine how fantastic this album is going to sound when they go on tour around the country in March. Plus this album will sound incredible at the summer festivals  – here’s me keeping my fingers crossed they do a Glastonbury slot, because how amazing would it be to hear It Happens, a song where they mention the festival there! Busted always manage to put on such a fantastic live performance and I feel like they succeed in making sure every single person in the crowd has a fantastic time. I know I for one always leave feeling the happiest person in the world after seeing them live.

My sheer love for this band makes it so insanely difficult to write posts like this as I am well aware I’m at a risk of sounding too much like ‘oh my goodness, I love them so much, I will literally buy anything they do so you should go do the same’. I know that to an extent that is true, I probably (definitely…) would buy anything they released but at the same time I’ve always been critical over things they do and I truly wouldn’t be writing this post if I didn’t really think it was a good album. So, my advice for Half Way There? If you ever were a fan you need to give them another listen as this album ticks all the boxes for a Busted fan. If you like your pop punk type of music, why not also give it a listen? My personal favourites are Shipwrecked In Atlantis and All My Friends if you only want to give a couple of songs a listen!

If you’re interested you can listen to Busted’s album Half Way There on all the usual streaming sites, download from iTunes etc or can buy a physical copy of the album from Busted’s online store by clicking here

January

by melissay1, posted in Other, Uncategorised

Despite the month seeming like it lasted forever, it seems that without even realising it the first month of the year is over. I’ve seen quite a lot of blog posts these last couple of days doing a recap of what they read / watched etc in a month and I think this is a great idea. I’m not sure I’ll do this every month but lets see how this goes…

Books

I found myself reading seven books in January. I started the month off obsessively reading then found it difficult to pick up a book the last couple of weeks but to be honest I’m happy with the amount that I managed to read as previously I’ve definitely found the life/reading balance hard to juggle! As usual, I’ve set my reading goal at twenty books this year so currently I’m well on track with this.

I’ve discovered Amazon’s unlimited kindle books service so currently I’m rapidly working my way through all the books that I like the sound of on that. I’ve been slightly less choosy as I know that if I don’t even half like a book within the first couple of chapters I can just move onto the next one. Any book recommendations are always appreciated especially if I can download on the kindle unlimited service as the amount of time I spend picking a book to read now I have lots of choice is crazy.

This month I read the following –

I write blog posts as I’ve finish reading a book so I have a few posts ready to go for future weeks but I sadly didn’t write a review up of much that I read this month. I think in future months this is something that I’d like to improve on. Writing a review of a book takes a fair amount of time and sometimes I find it restrictive as I can’t move onto a new book if I want to write a review so perhaps its ambitious for me to say I’m going to do everything I read but I’m definitely going to try improve the amount that I write.

Music

January was well and truly the month of musicals. I’m not entirely sure why but I’ve pretty much exclusively listened to musical soundtracks this month.

It comes as no surprise that the Dear Evan Hansen cast recording has been the top of that list, I don’t think I’ve ever been as invested in a show before, I relate so much to Evan and the songs could literally be wrote about my life, and the excitement that the tickets for the West End show could be released any day now is probably helping my constant replaying of the songs. Plus the Broadway version has been exciting this month too, as they have very recently got a new Evan, in the form of sixteen year old Andrew Barth Feldman. I just can’t explain how much he looks how I imagined Evan in my head, I know its unlikely I’ll personally get to New York this year but if anyone reading this does please go and see Dear Evan Hansen and tell me how amazing the new Evan is and warn me how many packets of tissues I’ll need to take with me when I eventually go and see the show…

I’ve also had Zanna Don’t playing quite a lot this month too. I stumbled across a video on YouTube of Heathers star, Jamie Muscato singing Fast from this musical (if you wanted to watch this video click here!) and it reminded me how I was once obsessed with this song! Its such a fun soundtrack and well worth a listen – Fast in particular provides the perfect break I’ve needed from the serious, pulling my heart strings-ness of Dear Evan Hansen!

School Of Rock on Broadway has shut this month and that has been all over my twitter feed so its not a surprise that I’ve revisited this soundtrack this month too. I love School Of Rock and I was lucky enough to see the original Broadway cast when I was in New York a few years back. Alex Brightman is one of the best theatre performers I’ve ever seen and I loved his performance and the show so much that I saw the show one night, walked out and booked a ticket for the night after. Alex Brightman is just the perfect Dewey Finn and his enthusiasm just shines even through the cast recording. I’m seeing a trend of me being desperate for a New York trip but Alex Brightman is in Beetlejuice on Broadway at the minute and its insane how much I would love to see him in a different role to Dewey.

Films

My Netflix subscription has been used in overload this month. Except just to watch Taylor Swift’s reputation tour on loop. I genuinely don’t think a day has passed that I haven’t watched at least part of this tour. You know those crazy statistics that Netflix post every so often saying that twenty users have watched Taylor Swift’s tour everyday this month? Yeah…I’m that person. If you like Taylor and you haven’t watched this yet what are you waiting for?! I did write a post on this tour if anyone wants a listen – click here!

I think that just about sums up my January favourites! I’m not overly sure how often my favourite things change, will I still be obsessively listening to musicals in February? I am so far so if that doesn’t change, I think I’ll probably concentrate on writing up a more in depth book roundup in future months, but we’ll cross that bridge at the end of the month.

If you’ve read this and can recommend me something to read/watch/listen to that you think that I’d love, I’m very happy for recommendations!